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Why El Baradei must be forced out of the IAEA.

Bruno Schirra, writing for the German website Die Welt just published a report that the IAEA tried to stop entitled: Atomic Secrets: The man who knew too much. This is the first time the IAEA’s Chief Inspector, Chris Charlier, has spoken out publicly. We have just translated the report.

Here are a few excerpts:

When Baradei went to Tehran in April for consultations, the chief negotiator of the Shiite theocracy, Ali Larijani gave him an ultimatum to fire Chris Charlier. …

Mohammad El-Baradei acted swiftly in accepting the demand.

Chris Charlier had made himself highly unpopular in Tehran since 2003. "I am not a politician, I am a technicianand as such the only thing which interests me is whether Iran's nuclear program is a civil or military one", Charlier states. "The inspections have to reach an unambiguous conclusion".

"I believe they are hiding what they are doing with their nuclear activities. …

Charlier notes the results of inspections and lists the tricks and deceptions of the Tehran rulers, which leads the inspectors in Vienna to a single conclusion: based on pieces of the puzzle gathered by Charlier, "Tehran is obviously making a bomb." …

Mohammad El-Baradei promised Ali Larijani, the most trusted person of Iran's Supreme Ruler Ali Khamenei not only to remove Charlier, the team leader of the inspectors, but also to no longer allow him access to any documents in Vienna, relative to Iran's nuclear program.

Does El Baradei work for Iran or the UN?

IranMania reported that Mohamed Elbaradei said that there was still plenty of time to find a diplomatic solution to the the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Rooz Online reported that while Ahmadinejad claims to be battling corruption in the Iranian regime, his brother has been accused of embezzling $2 Million dollars in contracts with the IRGC. His brother is currently the head of the president’s inspector’s office whose responsibility is to track and investigate government corruption and fraud.

Michael Rubin, Bitter Lemons International, while critical of the Bush administrations equivocation about its democratization policy, warned that the Islamic Republic's leadership would not likely survive should it push the White House into conflict over Israel or, for that matter, over Washington's allies in the Persian Gulf.

Yahoo News reported on the two-day regional conference on security in Iraq is to open in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Yahoo News reported that Shirin Ebadi finally demanded the "unconditional" release of all political prisoners, despite official denials that such a category of detainee exists.

Safa Haeri, Iran Press Service reported more on Ahmadinejad's statement: "Israel Must Be Removed."

IAEA is not in the business of stopping nuclear weapons program, they are in the business of monitoring and documenting them.

That is all. They have not stopped anyone from getting a weapon, and they won't, because that isn't the business they are in. They are in the business of providing cover, of providing a substitute for action in order to forstall any real action.

Pakistani forces kill 22 miscreants in an operation ISLAMABAD, July 9 (KUNA) About 22 miscreants were killed, 12 were injured and 50 have surrendered in a large-scale military operation in Southwestern Baluchistan province on Sunday, said official sources. The operation backed by hundreds of troops and five gunship helicopters was launched in Sangsila and Bhambhor areas of Dera Bugti tribe, heart of insurgency in Pakistans largest but poorest of the four provinces, sources told KUNA.

They said that bombardment demolished seven foreign funded militants training camps. They added that two hour long operation ended up in killing 22 miscreants. Sources said 12 miscreants were wounded and 50 surrendered. In a series of operations to silence rising insurgency in the province, the government is using carrot and stick policy. Several nationalist gangs have agreed on a truce against undisclosed compensations.

Meanwhile, about 100 miscreants had been killed in operations since January this year. (end) amn. bn KUNA 091352 Jul 06NNNN

Iranian secret services have large agents network in Azerbaijan The former staff member of the Ministry of State Security of Azerbaijan Ilkham Yismail considers that the secret services of Iran as early as 1993 have placed in Azerbaijan a large net of agents, and at any moment they can organize provocations in Baku, online paper Day.az writes today. AIA already wrote today that the Iranian Minister of Intelligence and Security Mohseni-Ejei stated in a conversation with the press that "the instigators of disorders are located abroad, and we would force them to lose the faith in their tactics". According to the minister, the Foreign Ministry of Iran already required in several countries to suppress the "activity of instigators". At the same time he noted that the Iranian secret services would also study this matter. There is a high probability that the Iranian secret services will act against the Iranian refugees and the dissidents also in Azerbaijan, furthermore problems could arise by the leaders of the Iranian Azerbaijani living in other countries. The secret services of Iran already have more vigorously concentrated on their work in the states of the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The regional activity of the secret services of Iran concerns, predominantly, the South Caucasian and Central Asian policy of the US, Day.az writes. Azerbaijani experts note that the representatives of Iran pay priority attention to the regional contacts of Americans in the political and military spheres, especially to the trips to the countries of the region of the representatives of the Pentagon, the CIA and the NATO headquarters.

When Chris Charlier arrived in Iran in April of this year, he was received the same way as had always been the case in each of over 20 visits to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Wherever we went , whatever we did, they always followed us, monitoring us with video cameras and capturing every single one of our conversations. Never letting us out of their sight for a second, watching everything over our shoulder".

"How the devil were we supposed to rationally do our work" comments the 64-year old Belgian.

Chris Charlier, who heads a team of 15 Atomic Energy inspectors of the IAEA has been inspecting the Islamic Republic's nuclear program since 2003.

For the first time a Viennese based inspector speaks openly and under his own name about the conditions under which UN inspectors try to bring to light the darkness surrounding the Iranian nuclear program.

The reason for his outspoken comments is because since April of this year he is for all practical purposes unemployed. Responsible for this is his Vienna based direct superior, Mohammad El-Baradei.

When Baradei went to Tehran in April for consultations, the chief negotiator of the Shiite theocracy, Ali Larijani gave him an ultimatum to fire Chris Charlier.

Iran's hasty demand.

Mohammad El-Baradei acted swiftly in accepting the demand.

Chris Charlier had made himself highly unpopular in Tehran since 2003. "I am not a politician, I am a technician and as such the only thing which interests me is whether Iran's nuclear program is a civil or military one", Charlier states. "The inspections have to reach an unambiguous conclusion".

"I believe they are hiding what they are doing with their nuclear activities. It is probable they are doing things of which we have no knowledge," Charlier responds to a question as to whether Tehran operates a secret parallel nuclear program.

Inside countless memos and work reports, Charlier notes the results of inspections and lists the tricks and deceptions of the Tehran rulers, which leads the inspectors in Vienna to a single conclusion: based on pieces of the puzzle gathered by Charlier, "Tehran is obviously making a bomb."

"For that he is now paying the price" says one of his colleagues. "El-Baradei has sacrificed Charlier and set him to counting paper clips in Vienna till he eventually retires".

The real reason is that in discussions with Mohammad El-Baradei, Charlier has always refused to close the Iran nuclear file and to absolve Tehran of effectively operating a military atomic program.

No Access to Iranian Atomic Documents.

In conversation, Charlier confirmed what European diplomats would only mention in secretive whispers.

On his last visit to Tehran, Mohammad El-Baradei promised Ali Larijani, the most trusted person of Iran's Supreme Ruler Ali Khamenei not only to remove Charlier, the team leader of the inspectors, but also to no longer allow him access to any documents in Vienna, relative to Iran's nuclear program .

"As of April, I may no longer travel to Iran. As of April, I no longer have access to the Iranian Nuclear file," says Chris Charlier.

Mohammad El-Baradei's capitulation to Iran has made huge waves at the IAEA in Vienna. The other inspectors are up in arms. "This totally bankrupts our work" says a Viennese inspector. "Mohammad El-Baradei folds vis-a-vis the Mullahs and leaves us standing in the rain. Why don't we just let Iran be in charge of inspecting their own nuclear program?"

Mohammad El-Baradei is unavailable to respond about his attitude in the Charlier matter. A spokesman for El-Baradei confirms that Chris Charlier is no longer authorized to travel to Iran and Tehran demanded his removal.

IAEA Tries to Prevent Publication

In a long telephone conversation, shortly after the facts were confirmed by the IAEA, they tried to prevent publication.

Publication would jeopardize Chris Charlier and additionally put at risk the work basis of our inspectors.

"What work basis?" Chris Charlier, who sees it differently, asks. "Just conceding, without any need, to the extortion of Tehran, by itself puts an end to a working basis. This has "de facto" ended even a half-way rational inspection of the Iranian nuclear program by the IAEA.

How necessary these inspections were was confirmed by statements coming from Tehran a long time ago.

On August 1st, 2005, the brother of Iran's chief negotiator, Ali Larijani, spoke openly of the true nature of the Iranian nuclear program. Iran's news agency ILNA quoted him as saying "the nuclear non-proliferation treaty is dead.

Iran's dispute with the West does not hinge on that but on whether we cease enriching uranium. It has nothing to do with whether we have the right to make bomb. We are not fighting with Europe about enrichment. If our bloodthirsty enemies like America and Israel threaten us, we have the right to defend ourselves with nuclear weapons and we are not going to give up this right".

Consequence: Western Position Weakened

Clear words, as above, out of Tehran that emphasize what putting the prominent IAEA inspector out in the cold implies. In coming negotiations by Western partners, the dismissal of Chris Charlier has weakened their hand.

The results obtained by his inspection trips and of his colleagues have been the trump card in the nuclear poker game with the Islamic Republic. A trump card that the IAEA boss, Mohammad El-Baradei has dropped from his hand.

Whilst I think Ralph Peters article and before and after maps may have some merits for other Middle East countries, I think he should learn more about Iran and its ethnic groups, languages (dialects), customs, traditions, etc. before he makes a statement such as this:

Iran, a state with madcap boundaries, would lose a great deal of territory to Unified Azerbaijan, Free Kurdistan, the Arab Shia State and Free Baluchistan .[Iran would, in effect, become an ethnic Persian state again] !!, with the most difficult question being whether or not it should keep the port of Bandar Abbas or surrender it to the Arab Shia State.

And then, there is this statement:

.. But would gain the provinces around Herat in today's Afghanistan  a region with a historical and linguistic affinity for Persia..

The Republic of Tajikistan also speaks a version of Persian language called Dari, similar to parts of Afghanistan, and has close historical affinity with Iran (Persia). Why has R.Peters left them out? Is it because he thinks people want it that way or that Tajikistan is already an independent republic?

The issue isnt redrawing the map of current Iran. The central issue, among other things, is governance and the current regime in Iran and its treatment of various ethnic groups including the Persians.

Here is a start for learning a bit more about Iranian ethnic groups  for Ralph Peters:

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